Cut Loose!
by TheWriterFormerlyKnownAsNixon
Summary: Oneshot/Songfic. Season 1. At the Playa de Losers, everyone's having fun. Until Courtney arrives... Her stuck-up attitude is ruining the good times, and Cody's tired of it. And he has a little plan to cheer her up! Will he get her to cut loose, and possibly in fact kick off her "Sunday shoes"? Small Cody/Courtney fluff.


**Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've written here. For anyone who's read my other stories, you may be surprised to see me writing for these two instead of my usual pairing. Well, you can thank authors JoeMerl and Strix Moonwing for their stories "Change of Plans" (Still in progress) and "Candy For Your Thoughts?" (Complete) about these two. I've thought about this pairing before, and these two excellent stories really inspired me to actually write something for it. If you haven't, I seriously recommend checking both stories out. That's an executive order! Perhaps if I get more time I'll try my hand at a full story, but for now, here's a little oneshot/songfic I wrote to sort of "warm up" to writing these two.**

**And to any old readers, fear not; Gwody is still my favorite. This is just trying something new. Now, enough rambling; on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own any of this.**

* * *

"Man, if I knew about this, I would have gotten myself eliminated a LONG time ago!"

"That's what we all said!"

"Yeah, Ezekiel really lucked out didn't he?"

It was a bright and sunny day at the Playa de Losers, the resort the eliminated contestants of Total Drama Island got sent to upon elimination. Every week, a new loser arrived to join the former contestants in some real R&R. No twists, no catches, no challenges… Just sunshine, swimming, and good times.

Currently a few of the former contestants were sitting in or around the pool greeting the newest addition to the resort, Bridgette. She was currently in the pool, finally happy to enjoy some clean water to swim in. Trent and Beth were there as well. Noah was sitting in one of the chairs with one of his books, though he was still partaking in the conversation. And lastly, Cody was sitting by the edge of the pool, feet in the water.

"I still can't believe how well you recovered, Cody!" Bridgette exclaimed. "I would have never guessed you got attacked,"

"Well, the first couple weeks were a bit rough, but I guess there wasn't as much damage as they originally thought,"

They were, of course, referring to the infamous bear mauling that got Cody eliminated. While it did manage to put him in a body cast and wheelchair, he was surprised to find that he was able to walk within a few weeks.

Besides, it wasn't all bad; Katie, Sadie, and Beth were sweet to him because of his injuries, and Eva even helped him out with a little physical therapy. Overall, everyone made sure he was having a good time.

"Yeah, he was back on his feet by the time I got here," Trent spoke. "You bounce back fast, dude,"

"Heh… Thanks,"

Cody had become particularly good friends with Trent since he arrived. The two already got along decently enough on the island, but now that Cody had effectively played wingman for him, their friendship had really grown.

And of course, being friends with Trent could possibly mean he'd get to hang out with Gwen more…

_Gwen…_

Cody thought about her a lot, of course. He was done trying to "Win" her, sure, but that didn't change how he felt. He was starting to worry; all the friendly people were slowly getting voted off, leaving her with the jerks like Heather and Duncan.

He looked around the pool.

Still, that also meant that all the nice people were coming here. He was making more and more friends as the weeks went on; everyone was enjoying themselves.

…Except of course, for…

_**WHAM**_

"Wooooaaaah!"

Everyone jumped as a loud noise rang out. They looked up towards the source to see…

Wait…

"…Harold?"

_**KER-SPLASH**_

A massive wave of water erupted from the pool as Harold fell in from the upper story window. Cody had to shield himself from the spray. There was a loud groan from Noah as the splash soaked both him and his book.

When the water settled, there was Harold, lying on his back in the pool. His clothes were soaked, and he seemed a bit roughed up.

"Oh my God, Harold!" Bridgette swam over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Ooooww…"

"…She's at it again, eh?" Noah sighed as he squeezed some of the water out of his shirt.

"Who? What? I don't understand!" Bridgette seemed a bit panicked; she looked around frantically. "Why are you all so calm!?"

"This is a pretty normal thing," Trent said as he came over to help check on Harold.

"But who? Eva? Why would she…" Bridgette trailed off as she put it together. "…Oh…"

"Yep," Noah confirmed. "Courtney,"

"She's not gonna stop until I'm dead, man!" Harold suddenly shouted, still on his back. "Dead!"

Cody sighed. Every bunch had its bad apple…

* * *

"_THIS ISN'T OVER, YOU HEAR ME!?"A scream came from the docks. "I'M GOING TO SUE ALL OF YOU FOR EVERY LAST CENT!"_

_Storm clouds were overhead as Courtney was dropped off at the Playa de Losers, kicking and screaming the whole way. It took several interns just to drag her off the boat. _

_Nobody came to greet her; the rest of the former contestants knew better. The fact that it was Courtney was bad enough; they knew how she handled losing. But being cheated off? _

_Even Cody, who tried to be friendly to everyone, was hiding somewhere. He was just starting to recover from his last mauling; he didn't need another._

_As Courtney stomped towards the resort, hands balled into fists, what became known to the rest of the residents as "The Week from Hell" began…_

* * *

Cody remembered it all too well. For that whole week, nobody was safe from Courtney's rage. It didn't matter what you were doing; it stopped when she came by. It was almost as if the idea of other people having fun _offended_ her. Noah's books were ripped from his hands, dinners were ruined by flipped tables, you name it… The only one she seemed at least somewhat merciful towards was Cody, and that was likely because still had some bandages and crutches at the time. Still, it wasn't like she treated him well; there was plenty of screaming and insults directed at him whenever he tried to say anything to her.

Then, a miracle happened; Harold arrived.

Well, a miracle for anyone else at least. Being the main source of her anger, Harold suffered her full wrath. Being tossed out a window was the _least_ of his concerns; they had lost count of the number of times they found him beaten. Nobody tried to stand up to her, of course; there were better ways to die. After the first week or so it slowed down, but she still found the time to pay him a visit every so often…

As for the rest of them, things improved. Now that had an outlet for her fury, she went back to treating the rest of them in her usual uptight, "I'm-better-than-you" way. It wasn't good, but it was better than the screaming.

Most people simply went with it, especially her former teammates. After all, they were all used to that attitude; it was just the way she was.

Cody, however, wasn't satisfied.

It had been maybe, what, 4 weeks since Courtney got here? The first week he could sort of understand; she had a right to be angry. He even (somewhat) understood her treatment of Harold. He had cheated her off, even if her reaction was pretty extreme.

But that wasn't what bothered him. Even after all calming down a bit, she just refused to enjoy herself. Everyone else here seemed at least somewhat friendly with one another; even Eva had warmed up a tiny bit (Though there was some bad blood between her and Bridgette, he knew). But her?

"I can't stand it!" He suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look over at him.

"Can't stand what?"

"Her! Courtney!" He continued. "I mean, I get why she acted that way on the island! She's a competitive person; I get that, but here? We're not competing anymore; why is she still so stuck-up?" Cody was getting more and more flustered.

"It's just the way she is," Bridgette shrugged. "Believe me, I tried to get her to calm down a bit, but she's just… High strung, I guess,"

"Probably has REALLY crazy expectations from her parents or something," Noah remarked.

"She's just plain CRAZY!" Harold shouted, now standing up.

"But why does it bother you so much? It's not like you and she ever really spoke," Trent asked.

"I just… I just hate seeing people like that," Cody explained. "She just seems so unhappy…"

Some of the others sighed. This shouldn't be a surprise; Cody was one of the most laid-back and friendly guys on the show. He always seemed to be making sure everyone was having fun around here.

"Well duh," Noah rolled his eyes. "But that's her choice. Besides, didn't you already try to cheer her up a couple weeks ago? How did that end up working out, hm?"

"Wait, really?" Beth spoke up. "I didn't hear about that,"

"Well, I didn't want to tell anyone…" Cody admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Noah sorta saw me on my way there," he paused. "It, uh… It didn't go super well,"

* * *

"_Hmph... This coffee's a bit sweet," Courtney muttered to herself. _

_The former CIT was currently sitting alone in the dining room, a coffee in hand and a bagel on her plate. She was up bright and early – As a proper CIT should be – and was currently reading a newspaper as she ate. _

_Getting up this early also meant she got to avoid everyone else. She couldn't stand it; how could they be so happy knowing they were eliminated? Knowing they had lost? Hell, the place was called "Playa de Losers", as if to mock her and remind her. But none of them seemed to care. They just sat around with their pool parties and games and…_

"_Augh!"  
_

_Just thinking about it angered her. She didn't deserve to be here; she should be back on that island, winning that prize money. But nooo, that little dork's cheating went unpunished… Until he got here, of course._

_But the worst of it? The people here were the weakest competitors. At least she could somewhat respect people like Heather, vile though she was... She was a worthy opponent. These people though? They belonged here, of course. But now she had to LIVE with them. Sure, some of the better contestants would arrive soon, but for now she had to deal with them. Ezekiel, Katie, Sadie, Noah…_

_And worst of all, there was…_

"_Hey, Courtney!"_

_Courtney felt her entire body tense up as his voice rang out. _

_...Cody._

_She shouldn't have had a problem with him; she hardly knew the guy. And it wasn't like he was a bad person or anything. Maybe a bit awkward, but harmless._

_His personality though… He was so carefree and positive about everything, and it bugged her. What did he have to be so happy about? Didn't he take this competition seriously at all? _

_She glared up at the small boy, that annoying, gapped-toothed smile on his face. _

"_What do you want?" She asked impatiently. _

"_Just saw you in here, thought I'd say hi… Can I have a seat?"_

"_No," She snapped, looking back down at her paper. He didn't seem to hear her as he sat down anyways. She continued to stare at her paper, refusing to look at him._

"_What'cha got there?" He suddenly asked._

"_Nothing,"_

"_Doesn't look like nothing,"_

"_Well then you're stupid AND blind," she growled._

"_Oooh, good one," She wasn't looking at him, but she could still _feel_ that stupid smile of his. Her hands tensed._

"_Don't you have to be annoying somewhere else?"_

"_Not until 2," Cody answered. There was silence. "Aw come on, it was a joke,"_

"_A pretty awful joke," She paused. "Now really, what do you want?"_

"_Nothing, just wanted to talk," Cody was unfazed by her attitude. "I don't see you hanging around with us much,"_

"_That's because I have better things to do,"_

"_Oh? Like what?"_

"_I don't know, THINGS!" She raised her voice, causing him to flinch a bit. "Why does it matter?"_

"_Well… I'm just trying to make sure everyone's having fun," _

"_Oh, I'm having _such_ a blast," she scowled at him. "It was such great fun being subjected to legal torture for weeks, only to be cheated off to a crappy resort with a bunch of losers," She stopped again. "One of which should know when he's not wanted,"_

"_What can I say? I'm stubborn,"_

"_Yes, I forgot. Also a stalker," She said bluntly. For a moment, his smile faded._

"_Ouch. Low blow…" He sighed. "Come on, Courtney, I'm trying to be nice-_

"_Well who asked you to try!?" Courtney shouted, rising to her feet. "And why should you care if I'm having fun? You don't even know me!"_

"_I don't see why that should matter," He replied. He was starting to tell this wasn't going anywhere. "I just want to be a friend,"_

_Courtney scoffed, turning as she folded her arms. _

"_What makes you think I want a friend?"_

"_Hey come on, I think everyone needs a friend,"_

"_Well not everyone thinks like you, Cody," She whirled around, grabbing her bagel and coffee. "Just because you didn't care about winning this contest doesn't mean I didn't. I'm not here to make friends, alright?"_

"_What about Duncan?"_

"_Oh do NOT even start. Yes, we kissed. It was a moment of weakness. I wasn't thinking,"_

"_Oh come on,"_

"_No. There's nothing going on between us. A delinquent like him would probably end up just cheating on me anyways," She paused, looking at him one last time. "Bottom line is I don't need anyone, got it? Now LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

_With that, she stormed out, leaving Cody alone in the room. He sighed as he leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands._

"_Well that could have gone better…"_

* * *

"I think I just made her madder," Cody said as he finished explaining. "I just don't get it… I've never seen someone so uptight,"

"It's not like it's your fault or anything," Trent said.

"But I can usually put people in a good mood, one way or another,"

He clearly hadn't given up. He'd never met a person he couldn't cheer up, even a little bit. He'd seen Courtney's type; she's was holding something back, he could feel it…

The more he thought about it, the more inspired he felt.

"In fact, I think I'm gonna try again," He suddenly said, straightening out. Noah sighed, putting his head in his hand.

"Cody, she's like a brick wall. She's more stubborn than you!"

"Seriously, it took weeks of Duncan's crap to even remotely loosen her up," Bridgette pointed out. "And based on what I've heard, I don't think that kiss meant much to either of them. So I don't think you should keep trying to-"

"…Loosen…" Cody muttered. He hadn't heard anything she said after that.

"What?"

"…Loosen… Loosen… Loose… Wait… Wait!"

The gears in the geek's head started to turn. Suddenly, his whole face lit up as he leapt to his feet.

"That's it! I've got it!" He exclaimed happily. The others looked at each other in confusion at his apparent epiphany.

"Got what?" Beth inquired.

"I know how I'm gonna get her to loosen up," Cody beamed, looking proud of himself. "Thanks, Bridgette, you really helped me out,"

"But wait, what did I-

"Sorry, gotta run. Bye!"

With that, Cody sprinted off, leaving the rest of the group to wonder what he was up to.

"He's dead," Harold said. "Like, double dead,"

"Yeah… I'm not convinced we'll find his body if he's going to try what I think he's gonna try," Noah said.

"Huh?" The others looked at him.

"What's he gonna try?"

"Yeah, what do you know about this?"

Noah smirked to himself as he opened up a new, dry book.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

"_Finally, my shift's up… Remind me why I had to do this again?" Noah inquired as he pushed Cody down the hall._

"_Because you drew the short straw?" Cody chuckled._

"_I still think Katie and Sadie cheated…" Noah muttered. "They're craftier than they let on,"_

"_Sure, sure…"_

_Noah sighed as he pushed Cody into his room; he had been forced to be Cody's "nurse" for the day, a job usually handled by Katie, Sadie, or Beth… Apparently they wanted a break._

"_Here you are, _master_," Noah said with a sarcastic sneer as he bowed. "Will there be anything else?"_

"_Well actually, would you mind moving me over to my speakers?"_

"_Fine, fine…" Noah moved Cody across the room, who began fiddling with the MP3 player that was plugged in to his speakers. _

_Noah smirked as Cody seemed to settle on a song._

"_Really? Didn't think you were into that,"_

"_What? It's a classic," Cody looked at him, annoyed. "It's one of my favorite 'feel good' songs. It always cheers me up," He paused. "I've got the movie if you want to watch it some time,"_

"_Hmph," Noah seemed uninterested. "You all set?" _

"_Yeah, thanks for the help, nurse,"_

"_I told you not to call me that," Noah growled as he turned to leave._

"_But you're so good at it!" Cody laughed. "I might have to ask you to fill in for the others some time,"_

"_Yeah, good luck with that," With a final sneer, he was out the door, leaving Cody to his music._

* * *

Courtney was once again in the dining room, this time enjoying a small sandwich. A little reward for herself after throwing Harold out the window.

"Rotten little cheater," She said to herself as she took another bite. "How dare he even try to apologize?"

Things had been pretty quiet for Courtney lately; not many people tried to bother her. Apparently Bridgette had just arrived, so everyone was off greeting her. Courtney decided she may at least say hi later; after all, Bridgette was her former teammate, and a decent one too.

…Not that she thought she was a friend or something!

"Oh great, now I'm thinking about THAT again…" She muttered to herself.

It had been a couple weeks since Cody had approached her that morning, and for some reason she couldn't get him out of her head. Every so often that ridiculous conversation would pop up…

Even more ridiculous, she'd occasionally find herself regretting what she said.

There wasn't really a good reason for it; she hadn't been particularly agitated or anything, but something about him just drove her mad…

But was it really fair to act like that? He was just trying to be nice…

And whether she liked it or not, she did appreciate it.

A little bit.

Still, she was more professional than that. She wasn't about to go back to him, begging for forgiveness. She had barely seen him these past couple weeks, in fact; they occasionally passed each other, but didn't speak. She couldn't help but wonder if he was up to something…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps rapidly running down the hall outside.

"Ugh. Hooligans," She groaned. It was probably Tyler or something.

But when the source of the running stopped in front of the doorway, it made her WISH it was Tyler.

"Oh, it's _you,_" Courtney sneered as Cody stood in the doorway, a small bag in his hands. She immediately forgot all those regretful thoughts she was just having.

"Hah… Hah…" Cody was panting slightly. "Thought I'd find you here…"

"Please don't tell me you're here to 'cheer me up' or whatever again…"

Cody simply grinned. "Sure am!" Courtney groaned. This guy didn't know when to quit…

"For the last time, I don't want your 'help'!" She exclaimed, starting to get up.

"Courtney, wait," Cody stepped forward, holding a hand in front of him. "Look, just hear me out alright?"

"Why should I?" She was now standing, ready to go.

"Look, why don't me make a bet?"

Courtney stopped, curious.

"What kind of bet?"

"Just let me talk for like, 5 minutes, okay? If I haven't changed your mind by then, I'll leave you alone for the rest of the time we're here, got it?"

Courtney smirked. She was never one to back out of a bet… Besides, she had to admit she was curious what he was up to.

"…Alright, I'll play," She said, sitting down. "5 minutes," Cody grinned like the Cheshire Cat at this.

"Great! Wait right there…" He said as he ran over to a table with an outlet. He reached into the bag.

Courtney's eyes widened a bit. Were those… Speakers?

Oh no, he wasn't going to…

As Cody plugged in the speakers, she began thinking of all possible sappy song choices he could be choosing to play…

But, she made a deal. And if meant getting him out of her hair, she'd endure it.

"Ah, here we are…" Cody said to himself as he pulled out an MP3 player, plugging it in. He looked back at Courtney, that silly grin still on his face. "I don't know anyone who can resist this,"

Courtney simply rolled her eyes as he turned back around and tinkered with the volume. For a moment, there was silence.

Then the music started.

Courtney's eyes widened even more, but she quickly tried to hide it as Cody turned.

"Ooo! I saw that look… You know this song, do you?"

Courtney crossed her arms, looking away.

"Hmph, of course I do. EVERYONE knows it,"

"That's not what I meant…" Cody said as he started to move back and forth. "That look said everything it needed to say,"

_This just might work!_ He thought

Courtney tried as hard as she could not to look at the dancing.

_Why this…? Anything but this!_

It wasn't that she hated the song, oh no… She adored it. And that's exactly what scared her.

Because she was already fighting the urge to tap her foot…

As Cody took a breath, she closed her eyes.

"**Been working, so hard**

**I'm punching, my card!**

**8 hours, for what?**

**Oh tell me what I've got!"**

As Cody began to sing, Courtney was shocked; he was much better than she was expecting. She dared to open her eyes to see the geek happily moving side to side, swaying his arms back and forth. He was looking at her expectantly.

"**I've got this feeling**

**That time's just holding me down!"**

As Cody paused, he shouted over to Courtney.

"Doing anything for you yet?"

"You look like an idiot!"

Cody just smiled and kept going.

"**I'll hit the ceiling**

**Or else I'll tear up this town!"**

Suddenly, he ran towards her, leaping forward as the chorus hit.

"**Tonight I gotta cut loose!**

**Footloose!**

**Kick off your Sunday shoes!**

**Please, Louise!**

**Pull me off of my knees!**

**Jack, get back!**

**Come on before we crack!**

**Lose, your blues**

**Everybody cut footloose!"**

Courtney desperately tried not to hide her face. She could feel herself starting to…

"Uh oh! I think I saw a smile there for a second,"

Eep!

Courtney clasped a hand over her mouth, causing Cody to laugh before continuing.

"**You're playing, so cool**

**Obeying every rule!**

**Dig way down in your heart**

**You're burning, yearning for some,**

**Somebody to tell you**

**That life ain't passing you by!"**

Courtney jumped a bit as Cody leapt onto her table, pointing a finger at her in accusation.

**I'm trying to tell you,**

**It will if you don't even try!**

He took a few steps back before running towards the edge.

"CODY!"

To her amazement, Cody gracefully flipped off the table, landing square on his feet.

"**You can fly, if you'd only cut…"**

In her shock, Courtney didn't catch herself as she began to silently mouth the next chorus as Cody resumed singing and dancing.

"**Loose! Footloose!**

**Kick off your Sunday shoes!**

**Oo-ee, Marie!**

**Shake it, shake it for me!**

**Oh, Milo!**

**Come on, come let's go!**

**Lose, your blues**

**Everybody cut footloose!"**

Courtney's mind was in a power struggle at this point; she could feel herself moving to the music now, and she couldn't seem to stop.

Cody stopped dancing for a moment as the bridge started. He reached out a hand.

_**Cut footloose…**_

"Come on Courtney, you can't fight it forever!"

_**Cut footloose**_…

Courtney looked up at him, unsure of what to do. On one hand, this was completely childish and foolish.

…On the other hand, she hadn't felt this good in awhile.

_**Cut footloose…**_

…Oh what the hell!

"**We've got to turn me around!" **She finally sang as she grabbed his hand.

"**And put your feet on the ground!"** Cody pulled her to her feet. "**Now take a hold of your soul!"**

Courtney felt her whole body energize as the music grew louder. She began to dance…

"There you go!"

Finally fully succumbing to it all, she smiled at Cody.

"May I?"

He smiled back.

"Take it away, Court!"

Cody backed up as Courtney threw back her head and started the third chorus.

"**I'm turning it loose!**

**Footloose!**

**Kick off your Sunday shoes!**

**Please, Louise!**

**Pull me off of my knees!"**

"Whoo! Go Courtney go!"

"**Jack, get back!**

**Come on before we crack!**

**Lose, your blues…"**

And while Cody's dancing was energetic, Courtney's was on a whole other level. She was bouncing around the room, spinning and cartwheeling the whole way. Cody, to say the least, was impressed.

Suddenly, after that last line, she ran up to Cody and grabbed his hands.

Now the two finished the final chorus together.

"**Everybody cut footloose!**

**Footloose!**

**Kick off your Sunday shoes!"**

The pair swayed back and forth, alternating on pulling and pushing one arm each. Both had the biggest smiles on their face as they sang.

"**Please, Louise!**

**Pull me off of my knees!**

**Jack, get back!**

**Come on before we crack!**

**Lose, your blues…"**

The two separated as just Courtney sang.

"**Everybody cut, everybody cut,"**

She pointed to Cody, who sang.

"**Everybody cut, everybody cut,"**

He pointed back.

"**Everybody cut, everybody cut,"**

And the finale, together.

"**Everybody!**

**Everybody cut footloose!"**

As the music stopped, the pair collapsed into a couple of chairs, panting.

Almost immediately, they started to laugh.

Courtney felt like some weight had been pulled off of her… She felt so light, so happy…

Was this how Cody always felt?

"See? A little fun won't kill you," Cody teased.

"Alright, alright, I get it…" Courtney regained her composure. She still had a smile on her face. "I just… REALLY love that song,"

"I could tell," Cody chuckled. "You had more energy than me!"

"Well I've taken some dance classes, you know,"

"Hey, they can't teach that kind of stuff," Cody grinned.

There was a small silence. Courtney broke it with a happy sigh.

"You don't know how badly I needed that…" She paused. "…In fact, _I_ didn't know how badly I needed that… My life's just gotten so crazy, I just forgot how to… How to relax,"

Indeed, it had been years since Courtney felt this good. All the stress of high school, and thinking about college, and this contest… For the first time in awhile, none of that was on her mind.

"So, still don't need a friend?" Courtney rolled her eyes.

"You've made your point… Don't rub it in," Cody laughed.

"Sorry, sorry… So, you wanna go hang out with everyone at the pool?"

"Are you kidding? Sitting around a pool after you psyched me up like that? Come on, there must be something else,"

_Wow, didn't expect it to work THAT well…_ Cody thought to himself with pride.

"…Well… There are a couple of big trees I've seen that look pretty climbable, but I don't know if that's what you…

He trailed off as he saw Courtney's eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh my God… I haven't climbed a tree since I was like, 10! That's perfect!" She sprang to her feet.

"Sounds good to me!" Cody rose to his feet as well, still proud of himself for his genius plan. "Let me just grab my stuff," He said as he walked over to the speakers, putting them away.

As the pair turned to go, Courtney suddenly stopped him.

"Oh, one more thing…" She said, turning to him.

"What's tha-OH!"

Cody felt his entire face turn bright red as Courtney gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"W-w-what was t-that for?" He stammered.

"Just a thank-you present," Courtney giggled. "After everything you've went through, I think you deserve that from someone,"

Cody rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin, face still burning.

"Well, I…"

"Race you outside!" Courtney suddenly shouted before sprinting out into the hall.

"Wait… What…?" Cody blinked as he recollected himself. "…Hey! No fair!" He yelled as he started after her. "That was psychological warfare!"

"All's fair, Cody!" He heard her shout back. Determined, he picked up speed.

And as he stared ahead at Courtney, a strange feeling began to swell up inside him. It was a feeling he knew all too well… After all, it was the same feeling he felt the first time he saw Gwen.

But Gwen wasn't on his mind right now.

And needless to say, he wasn't the only one with that feeling.

* * *

"So, you think he's dead yet?"

"Would you stop with the dead jokes!" Bridgette put her hands on her hips.

"No, Harold's right… I'm not sure Cody's gonna survive," Noah smirked.

"Well maybe if you'd tell us what he's up to,"

"I said I THINK I know what he's up to… And not telling you guys is way for more,"

"Ugh…"

"Hey, wait… Do you guys hear that…?"

Everyone paused as Trent spoke, listening for whatever it was he heard.

"I heard… Laughing?" Bridgette blinked.

"And it's getting closer… Is that…?" Beth put a hand over mouth as she gasped.

"No way," Noah stifled a laugh. "It actually worked?"

Sure enough, the group saw Courtney speed by the pool doors, laughing the whole way.

"Come on, I thought you said you were fast during that paintball challenge!"

"You got a head start!" They heard Cody whine "Cheater!"

"Cheater's just a mean word for winner!"

Sure enough, Cody shot by a few seconds after her. The pool group just stared in amazement.

"…I don't believe it… He's alive?"

"Man, that guy really CAN make anyone happy…" Trent shook his head.

Meanwhile, Noah was laughing hysterically as he tried to imagine Cody singing and dancing like Kevin Bacon.

* * *

**Well, that's that! Sorry this was a bit more dialogue-heavy than some of my other stuff. And hopefully I got all the lyrics right… Some of them are hard to make out. But I hope you enjoyed. Please review; I'm always looking to improve. As I said, perhaps a full length story will be coming someday… And again, I urge you to check out both of the stories I mentioned! Until next time, this is Nixon, signing off.**


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